One my least favorite things to hear a kid say is that they can’t draw. I am a huge believer in attitude being more than half the battle, and that’s way zentangles are one of my favorite ways to break that “I can’t draw” attitude! The idea is simple. Start off with a simple design full of wide open spaces. Then using one color, fill in each of those areas with a simple design. From lines, to dots, to swirls or zig zags you just keep drawing simple patterns in each of the spaces. Before you know it you have a work of art!
I did three different versions of this mermaid to showcase the versatility of this concept. I have a full on zentangle where the whole body is filled with simple patterns (perfect for 10 and up).
A version where I put simple patterns in the outline and colored the spaces (for kids 6-10).
And a simple version where I just put different colors in each of the empty spaces (perfect for the under 6 crowd). Really though, there is no wrong way to do this project!
So go ahead and grab a couple of blank color sheets, or even a blank piece of paper and get to drawing one line at a time!!